Adult Literacy

What Is Important to Include in Adult Literacy Classes?

Adult literacy classes generally include teaching basic skills in reading, writing, math and language proficiency in order for participants to be productive members of society. Some programs also include problem-solving techniques or instruction in a particular area of the workforce.

GFA World has been teaching adult literacy for decades in some of the poorest communities in Asia. More than one in three women in Asia are illiterate. These women are hindered from meeting their goals and others often taken advantage of because of their illiteracy. This is especially common in the marketplace.

Illiterate adults are unable to help their children with schooling. They can’t read medical bottles, menus, labels, street signs or important paperwork. Being illiterate can be a detriment to one’s quality of life. It can also impact their hope for the future. When adults learn to read, all those negatives suddenly turn into positives!

Adult literacy classes often include:


Adult literacy classes often include:

  • Reading lessons, during which students learn the basics of their written language, such as the letters and sounds as well as how to write.
  • Basic math training, during which students learn basic math skills. Illiterate adults are often at a disadvantage in the marketplace, so this skill is essential, especially if the participant wants to break out from the cycle of poverty.

Learning to read and perform basic math helps these adults provide for their families in ways they couldn’t before. They can now help their children learn. They can read medicine bottles, understand warning signs, read street signs, and read other important information in aspects of everyday life.

In fact, the ability to read has been listed as a miracle cure to poverty. Literacy empowers people to improve their lives and it enables them to participate fully in society. The ability to read opens doors for employment and creates hope for breaking the cycle of poverty.

The ability to read also offers adults the honor of reading God’s Word. In GFA World’s literacy classes, Holy Scripture is used as a primary textbook, and participants gain great joy as they are able to read God’s Word for the first time.

Will you join us in giving adults this cure to poverty? Supporters of GFA World helped provide literacy classes for 61, 880 women in just one year. That’s a huge impact to those families!

Will you consider giving to GFA World’s literacy efforts today?